Winter Veggie Chili

 I am a huge fan of hearty veggie chilis and I love experimenting with different recipes. This is by far the SPICIEST Veggie Chili I have ever made and ate…and possibly the most colorful!

I found this recipe in a recent Food & Wine magazine…it was actually featured on the cover.

Winter Vegetable Chili

serves 4.

Ingredients

 

 

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola)

1 onion, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon chile powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt

One 14-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes

1 canned chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup canned hominy, drained

1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained

Brown rice, chopped red onions, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips or bread toasts, for serving

 

Directions

1. In a medium, heavy enameled cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, parsnips and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile powder and cumin and season with salt. Cook for 1 minute.
2. In a blender, puree the tomatoes and their juices with the chipotle, adobo sauce and water until very smooth. Add the mixture to the casserole along with the hominy and beans and bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer the chili over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt. Serve with rice, red onions, cilantro, sour cream and chips.

This is actually really quick and easy to make. If you are a fan of heat, you have to try this recipe. If you want to cool it off a bit, I’d suggest adding less Chili Powder and maybe even avoid the chipotle pepper (oops, I added 2!).

I served mine over sticky brown rice (my favorite). I topped it with avocado (which helped cool it off a bit), cilantro, and crushed blue corn chips. Delicious!